Legends Aren't Born
by DhampyrX2
Summary: Sally Jackson was tragically taken from this Earth when her son Percy was a mere six years old. Now her lover Poseidon must find someone to raise his young son to be the hero he needs to be to face the Great Prophecy. And there is only one person he can think of to fill that role. It's good to have at least one member of the family you can rely on to do the right thing.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Legends Aren't Born

Author: DhampyrX2

Genre: Adventure/Drama/X-over

Rating: PG-13ish

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Don't sue me, I'm poor.

Summary: Sally Jackson was tragically taken from this Earth when her son Percy was a mere six years old. Now her lover Poseidon must find someone to raise his young son to be the hero he needs to be to face the Great Prophecy. And there is only one person he can think of to fill that role. It's good to have at least one member of the family you can rely on to do the right thing, even if it is your little brother's estranged son.

* * *

Sometimes it's the unexpected things in life that make the greatest impact. Things not even the gods themselves could predict. For example, nobody would have expected the death of Sally Jackson when her young son was only six years old. Or rather, if it happened they would have expected it to happen from one of two scenarios. The first would have been her being killed due to the machinations of Zeus in his paranoia over the children of the Big Three in relation to the Great Prophecy or some other Olympian or monster in relation to her demigod son by Poseidon, Perseus. The second likely culprit would have been Gabe Ugliano; the smelly, lazy, disgusting man she had married to conceal young Percy's demigod scent from monsters.

Ironically enough, what did take Sally Jackson from this world in such an untimely fashion was neither of those things. It was a car crash. Nothing more than a simple accident with no interference from the Fates, Olympians, or any other force beyond mortal understanding. A man that had been in a rush to get to his office in New York had looked down at a text from his secretary, run a red light, and the resulting crash forced his vehicle to jump the curb and crash into Sally as she was walking home from taking her son to school. It was a tragic accident in every sense of the word but nothing more than that.

And it would be that accident that would change the face of the world in ways that none could imagine.

* * *

Poseidon paced his palace fretfully as a scowl marred his features and the seas grew choppy at his displeasure. He had made it a point to look in on Sally and his son Percy as best he could without revealing them to Zeus or Hades but in the end it hadn't mattered. The mother of his youngest child was dead from the actions of a careless and stupid mortal. One that Poseidon was debating with himself about snuffing out personally or contacting Nemesis to deal with. Either way he would make certain that the careless fool who had left his son an effective orphan, for Poseidon had no intention of allowing Sally's "husband" to stay anywhere near his son, was going to be in for a world of hurt before reaching the Fields of Punishment.

Unfortunately, that left him with few options. He could not raise the boy himself no matter how much he wanted to. Even if he could somehow convince his bride Amphitrite or their child Triton to accept the result of his most recent indiscretions, there was no way Zeus or the rest of the Olympian council would allow him to skirt Ancient Law and raise his own demigod son. He supposed he could contact Chiron and get Percy taken to Camp Half Blood, but the camp was hardly the place for a six year old that had just lost his mother and had no idea of his divine heritage.

But, what choice did that leave him with? Percy needed someone to look after him. Someone that could protect him from the monsters and angry Olympians that might wish him harm. Someone that would raise him to be a good man, and later, a good hero. Someone that could raise him to look down the gaping maw of the Great Prophecy and rise to the occasion. But where could the Sea God find such a person? It wasn't as if this was the Age of Heroes anymore. Other than the immortal centaur Chiron, those that could raise a hero properly were few and far between in the mortal world.

Unless…

But no. That was an insane idea. Other than Ares and Eris few in the family even spoke to him at his own insistence. On the other hand Poseidon had never really had any quarrels with him as others in the family had and he WAS someone that could protect Percy from anything. If anyone could help it would he him.

Poseidon chuckled to himself as he flashed to California and made his way to the front door of a rather nice home near Hollywood. He was not sure if he would be welcomed at first but he knew he would have to succeed in gaining the aid he required. His son's life depended on it. His musings were cut short as the door opened to reveal the form of a hulking man with long dirty blond hair dressed in a tasteful Polo shirt and khakis.

"Uncle. You know as a rule I prefer to keep my side of the family away from my home," the man greeted coolly.

Poseidon looked sheepish as he replied, "Yes I recall the issues we had after the whole Twilight that led to us taking our Roman forms for the first time to escape your friend's wrath. But I would not have come if it were not important, Hercules. Or would you prefer Kevin now? So many know you as both with your television series."

"Kevin will be just fine, Poseidon. Although I am surprised to see you. Other than Ares and occasionally Strife, I don't exactly get many visits from Olympus to my home," Hercules, or rather Kevin Sorbo in his modern persona, replied evenly. "So what brings you here?" he added as he motioned stiffly for the lord of the Oceans to enter his home.

"I find myself at a bit of a loss nephew. You see, it involves family, although not family you are acquainted with…" Poseidon led off with a wince. He was not used to asking anyone for aid. Certainly not his brother's one-time favorite son. The one that had been named after that arrogant ass Heracles and had managed to end up salvaging a good portion of his elder half-brother's reputation as time and failed mortal memories made Heracles and Hercules synonymous in the eyes of "mythology."

It did not take Hercules long to understand his Uncle's meaning as his face grew grim and he commented, "You broke your oath to the Styx."

"Zeus did in first. Twice in fact. And at least I genuinely loved Sally instead of just looking for a woman to bed the way my foolish little brother does to escape Hera for a time," Poseidon ranted with a scowl.

It did not escape Kevin's notice that Poseidon had used the past tense to discuss the woman he had been involved with, nor his obvious agitation as he discussed her. "What happened?" he prodded gently, fearing his father had made another mistake like he had when he had attacked Hades' lover decades ago.

Poseidon halted his diatribe to look gravely at his nephew as he fought the urge to break down at the thought of his dear Sally's death. He explained to Hercules who she was and how they had met. How he had loved her and regarded her as a Queen among Women. And how she had been killed earlier that day but a lowly mortal not paying attention to the road.

Kevin would admit to a degree of relief that neither Zeus nor Hades had been involved as he asked, "And you're certain it was really an accident and none of the… family were involved?"

"Quite certain, nephew. I would have been on Olympus in a rage if anyone had struck at Sally or my son like that. Not even your father would have been safe," Poseidon assured his nephew with a deep scowl.

A part of the immortal demigod felt a small moment of pity for the mortal that had just ended the life of Sally Jackson, for he was certain the King of the Seas would have none. A greater part of him, the part that had been raised in the war-torn times as Ancient Greece began its decline and Rome had begun to rise under the reign of Ceasar felt his Uncle was in the right to do what needed to be done so long as it was kept to the guilty party alone. Still, the story did beg the question, "Not that I don't feel for you, Uncle, but why are you telling me all this?"

Poseidon smiled humorlessly as he responded, "Who else could I tell, nephew? My brothers that would try to slay the boy for being my son because a toddler poses such a deep 'threat' to Olympus? Your siblings on Olympus that would inform Zeus immediately either to spite me or because they felt it was their duty to act as such? Perhaps my wife so she can tell me it was my entire fault for allowing another mortal woman to turn my head? Where else could I go?"

Kevin accepted the explanation with a somber nod, even though he knew all too well it was not the whole of the reason why Poseidon was in his living room. "And why else?" he asked gently.

"I… was hoping I could convince you to take him in. His stepfather is the very embodiment of the worst of humanity. Sally only stayed with him to hide Percy's scent. I could never trust my son to actually be raised by the man," Poseidon admitted without meeting his nephew's eyes.

Kevin's own eyes grew wide as Poseidon finally got to the point the demigod was afraid he was coming to. "You can't be serious. Why would you even think of asking me to raise your child?" he asked incredulously.

"Again, nephew, who else could I ask? Who could I trust to raise my son to become a good man? You know as well as I that Percy is just as likely as your newest half sister to become the Child of Prophecy even if Zeus thinks he is hiding his indiscretions from the rest of us. Who else could I entrust to raise him to make the right choices when the time comes? And who else could protect him not only from monsters, but from the… less forgiving members of our family?" Poseidon asked in return.

"You are aware that Ares and Eris are portraying _themselves_ on my show right now in mortal guises despite Zeus' protests, right? And that Deimos' daughter Hudson guest stars as Callisto? Heck I employ more than a few REAL monsters just to keep them under control. I'd hardly call my taking care of him a low profile position," Kevin protested hotly.

"And yet, I could think of nobody that could keep my son safer. Neither Zeus nor Hera would dare move against you. Despite your estrangement from us, more than half of Olympus still considers you a friend, Hercules. Even Hades and Persephone owe you a debt for brokering the deal with Demeter that allows them to be together. They would never strike out at your cousin so long as he was in your care. And I know you would raise him well," Poseidon countered passionately.

"Uncle, you don't know what you're asking of me. I mean, I just got married last year. And there is still one last season of my series. And I'm in talks for a new sci-fi series after that. Taking in a child without even asking Samantha like that…" Hercules protested weakly.

"Can you really turn him away? My only other option would be Chiron. Can you ask a child that knows nothing of his heritage, his world, to be raised at Camp Half Blood at the age of six? Would you risk him to the danger so young a demigod would face? You are my only hope, Hercules. I ask this not as a God or as a Lord of the Seas. I ask as a father that is desperate. As your Uncle that needs your aid. Will you raise my son? Will you protect him until he is ready to face his destiny?" Poseidon pleaded.

The resolve on Kevin's face began to crumble as another voice interjected, "Yes. We will."

"Sam?" Kevin asked in shock as he looked toward the bottom of the stairwell and saw his new bride looking on with an expression that was both fierce and compassionate. Samantha Jenkins was an actress that had portrayed Serena in _Hercules: the Legendary Journeys._ She was a clear-sighted mortal that had captured the demigod's heart. The first mortal he had allowed himself to fall for in a VERY long time.

"I know it's a scary proposition, honey, but it's the right thing to do. You know it is. Now go rescue your little cousin, hero. I want to meet me new son," Sam ordered with a kind smile and a twinkle in her eye.

Kevin smiled in return as he playfully responded, "Well I can't argue with a command like that, now can I?"

"Thank you nephew. Thank you both so much. I will make certain everything is arranged so that you can take him right away. He will be in protective custody with child services once school is out for the day to make certain that idiot Sally used to mask his scent won't get near him. Can I have Hermes bring you the necessary documentation?" Poseidon all but gushed in relief as he clasped Hercules gratefully on the shoulders. It was all he could do to keep his composure well enough to keep from hugging his brother's son in his elation.

"Actually, if you can slip it to Eris and have her flash it to me, I'll arrange a private jet and probably be on the way by the time you have it ready. Zeus would be less suspicious of Ares or Eris popping up and, frankly, I don't trust Ares not to lose something. Eris will be glad to be assigned something 'important' by one of the Big Three. You know she feels overlooked sometimes," Kevin suggested.

"Like when she tried to petition for Nemesis' domain during her short time as a mortal before Hera accepted that no one else could fill her role adequately. I recall it quite well. Can Eris be trusted though if she figures out who Percy is before you claim him?" Poseidon asked.

Kevin and Sam both chuckled at the question as San interjected, "You don't have to worry about that Lord Poseidon. Eris caught quite a bit of the acting bug using Kevin's show to increase awareness and worship for Olympus. She'd never risk anything that would put Kevin, Lucy, or either of their shows in danger. She loves that she gets more attention as Discord than major Olympians like Athena, Artemis, and Apollo get put together. And she's thrilled at the following Strife gets given that he's her son. She's almost nicer to Kevin than Aphrodite is when we run into her at a Hollywood party these days."

"Huh. Can't say I ever saw that one coming. Well I can see Aphrodite looking for mortal conquests among movie stars but Eris' behavior is a surprise," Poseidon commented.

"She's easier to deal with when you manage to keep her busy. I think that was half of her and Strife's problem in the old days was they their domains didn't keep them occupied enough and they were forced to drum up their own conflicts to make up the difference. She's mellowed a bit, although I still prefer to keep her away from the house," Kevin explained.

"Which is why I think Strife pops in occasionally. He says it's to talk about how Joel portrays him on the show but I think it's mostly because his mother won't follow him here. She can get a bit smothering with him after Callisto killed him and it took so long for him to reform the first time from what I understand," Sam admitted. "And, he loves it when I bake cookies for him. I think he likes getting the attention here that he tends to lack on Olympus from everyone but his mother and Ares."

"It probably doesn't help that Ares is busy with Aphrodite, both your series and that one about Xena, and his domain," Poseidon added with a sympathetic wince.

"My sister and her new actor obsession. I know she has at least one demigod girl in the area because of it. I just never thought it would be an excuse to rekindle her affair with Ares," Kevin said with a sad shake of his head.

"As much as we all love Aphrodite, well other than Hera and Artemis, we all know how flighty she can be. It's the nature of her domain," Poseidon said with a shrug.

"True enough," Hercules agreed. "Anyway, you'd best be off to get everything ready Uncle. I'll pack an overnight bag and arrange a flight immediately to get Percy."

Poseidon smiled warmly as he reached out and clasped his nephew's forearm in the old tradition of the ancient Greeks "Thank you again, Hercules. I am forever in your debt for this. Both of your debts."

"It's alright, Uncle. My issues with Father and his growing paranoia aside, we are all still family. And family should look out for each other," Kevin replied with a modest grin of his own.

Poseidon shook his head ruefully as he responded, "If only you could convince the rest of Olympus to see that it would be a better world for us all nephew."

"Well I can start with teaching your son and maybe we can go from there," Kevin replied with an optimistic twinkle in his eye.

Poseidon let out a grateful chuckle as he shot back, "Indeed you can nephew. I'll will have everything arranged and have Eris flash in to give it to you as soon as I can. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart. You and your family will always have the blessings of the Sea for this," before disappearing in a spray of sea mist.

Kevin stood there for a moment before turning to meet look at his wife as she strode toward him and took him into a warm embrace. "Do you really think this is the right thing, honey? Taking in another demigod? Raising him to deal with that stupid prophecy that has my father so worked up?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter. It's not about a prophecy, or my father-in-law, or anything like that. It's about a little boy that needs us. A little be that happens to be family. The rest can sort itself out," Sam replied before moving in to kiss her husband tenderly.

"Glad I have you here to remind me of things like that," Kevin replied with rueful grin once the kiss ended.

"Well you didn't just marry me for my good looks. Someone has to keep a cool head around here and help you come up with stories about arm injuries and whatnot to make people less likely to believe you are who you play on TV," she shot back with a wink.

Kevin laughed again before stepping out of his embrace as he said, "Truer words, Sam. Now can you arrange the flight for us while I throw a few things together. We need to hurry so we can meet out new stepson."

Sam nodded with a grin as she replied, "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

NOTE: Yes I'm tweaking several think for PLO and H:tLJ to make this fit. First and foremost is that Heracles and Hercules are not the same person. Heracles is still the insensitive jerk that broke Zoe's heart and deserves anything unpleasant that comes his way. I will do all I can to make that distinction where I can here. Heracles is a jerk, Hercules is the good guy we see in The Legendary Journeys. In fact, the only reason Alcmene named her son after Heracles was at Zeus' insistence.

Also, not everything on the show will be gospel truth. The second future episode pretty much explained that the whole thing with Iaolus getting killed by Dahok and all of that was pure tripe to please producers. That, the Twilight of the Gods, and several other things either did not happen or happened differently from what we saw so they will not interfere with PJO canon too much. In fact, other than Aphrodite's, and possibly Discord/Eris', personalities you won't see much change from PJO portrayals of various gods. It's almost scary how the two worlds can mesh in that regard.

Finally, I understand that this is technically a crossover and that I put it exclusively in the PJO fandom. That was intentional to get more readers than just the few that follow me due to my other stories because I want people to give this a chance. Despite the first couple of chapters to establish the changes in canon, the rest will focus mostly on Percy and his world rather than Hercules. Herc might show up at some points in the future but he will have raised Percy to act as a hero and be independent just as Chiron trained Hercules, Ialous, and Jason to act when they were young. Percy won't be running home to his stepdad when things get tough. That's not who he is. Besides, Kevin will have three natural kids of his own with Sam to look after and Percy won't want to risk pulling his dad away from his step-siblings just because some monster or titan is taking a nuisance of itself.

As for the timeline… The Lightning Thief came out in '05. In it Percy was twelve. Make him six and you have 1999, the year after Kevin Sorbo got married in real life. Hercules: the Legendary Journeys ran through 1999. Andromeda started in 2000 so it's not impossible that talks for the show were already in the works. I'll try to avoid mentioning years directly where I can but that should give you a little bit of an understanding of where I'm working with things.


	2. Chapter 2

Money and status have their privileges, as the mortals sometimes say. Less than an hour after Poseidon had left Kevin, aka Hercules, was on a chartered private jet to New York with his wife despite the early hour of the morning on the West Coast. With any luck, he would get there less than two hours after Percy was done with school for the day.

As they made their way toward New York and their soon-to-be new son, Hercules found himself musing in his head on what Perseus "Percy" Jackson would be like. Would he resemble his father Poseidon's mortal guise? Would he take after his mother in appearance? Certainly the boy would share the Sea King's green eyes. Kevin knew the one dead giveaway for most demigods, beyond their scents, was their eyes. In fact, he got in the habit of wearing color contacts to dull the electric blue of his own eyes when he started acting so that other demigods would not immediately make the connection about his heritage if they saw him in anything.

His musings were cut short as the private cabin of the plane filled with flashy sparks and effects reminiscent of his show to herald the arrival or Eris, although his fans mostly knew her by her domain of Discord in this day and age. She was dressed in the red-velvet and silver outfit the censors had suggested for her on the Young Hercules spinoff to his show rather than the leather and lace pseudo-dominatrix outfit she was known for on Xena and Hercules. Few knew this but she found that she preferred the more modest garment, especially when dealing with Kevin and his family. She had mentioned something about "Not needing to flash her little brother the way Aphrodite does" when Ares had asked her about the change. Her hair was pulled into two ponytails/pigtails , another style she had picked up from playing around on the show.

"Hey little brother, I have some legal papers Uncle Fishbreath asked me to bring over a-sap. He decided he was going to get into the family business to tick off Zeus or something? I thought we were sticking with the water effect for him?" Eris announced as she handed over a briefcase with all the documentation Kevin would need to claim guardianship of his young cousin.

"Hello Eris, good to see you again. And no, this is something else I'm taking a look at for Poseidon. Nothing to do with the shows," Kevin assured her.

Eris looked somewhere between intrigued and concerned as she replied, "Must be pretty important for you to head anywhere near Olympus on such short notice."

"It is. But not something that really concerns the rest of the gods," Kevin responded as he opened the case to peruse the documents.

"I see you have the pigtails again, Eris. Are you trying for a new look?" Sam asked to try to distract the conversation away from Poseidon's request. Even if Zeus did his level best to ignore Hercules in this day and age for "lowering himself" to acting, it still wasn't the best idea to discuss things they wanted to keep hidden from him while traveling through his domain.

"Nah I just like them. They make for good hand holds when you find the right guy," Eris replied with a saucy wink that made Sam chuckle. The Goddess of Discord had never made her love of wild adventures in the bedroom a secret, although she didn't try to ram it down anyone's throat either. She just tended to be something of a free spirit there her relationships were involved, which is why she was one of the rare female Greek/Roman gods to neither marry nor take a vow of maidenhood; something that irritated her parents Zeus and Hera to no end.

"You know its saying things like that, that end up with your son in my kitchen with his finger in his ears and his eyes closed as he begs for cookies to drown his sorrows," Sam noted drily.

Eris' face broke into a naughty grin as she retorted, "Well Strife has to learn about the birds and bees somehow, doesn't he?"

"I think he figured out most of it when he walked in on Ares and Aphrodite for the third of fourth time," Kevin noted without looking up from his paperwork.

"Hmph. Like it's such a horrible sight to see someone as hot as ME getting a little action," Eris huffed.

"Would you want to walk in on Zeus having a tryst, big sister? Or worse yet, Zeus and Hera together?" Kevin challenged with a raised brow.

Eris paled before growing decisively green as she clutched her stomach as she spat, "Ugh. Don't say things like that unless you want me to spew ambrosia chunks all over the floor of your little jet here, Herc."

"Well now you know how Strife feels when he sees you with any of your playmates," Kevin replied with a devilish smirk.

Eris muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "my poor baby" before moving over to lounge in a seat and take not of the plane's décor as she commented, "Speaking of your plane, this is nice. But you never seemed the type for the jet-setting luxury perks of fame. Ares does sometimes and I love my groupies but you always keep pretty grounded, little brother. So again, what gives?"

"I can't really discuss it, Eris. It's a private matter between me and Poseidon. At least for now," Kevin answered honestly as he avoided looking the goddess in the eye.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad. What did Uncle P go and knock some girl up that you have to rescue form Daddy Dearest or something?" Eris scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

Both Kevin and Sam looked pained at how close Eris was to the truth as Kevin gulped guiltily and said, "No. Not at all."

His reaction, however, was more than enough to Eris to pick up on as she suddenly looked both intrigued and worried as she motioned with her right hand to set up as much privacy as she could between them with a flash of power. "Okay seeing you with a guilty look on your face is ten different kinds of freaky. You want to tell me what's really going on now or should I just follow two wherever you're jetting off to and let the chaos unfold right in front of me?" Eris challenged with a determined look in her eye. Unlike Ares, who worked on the shows under the guise of Kevin Smith only to promote his own name and remind the world of his one true obsession Xena, Eris had actually bonded with Hercules over the last few years. It had become clear early on that he treated her better than most of Olympus did given her status as a "minor god." Although how chaos and discord was a less important domain when controlled by a full daughter of Zeus and Hera compared to the booze Dionysus held sway over she would never understand. Regardless, Hercules treated her with respect, acknowledged her contributions to both the show and the world at large, and he even feared her powers enough to want to keep her out of his home. For that alone he was quickly becoming her favorite little brother. Which honestly made her want in on the secret all the more. "Well?" she prodded.

"I'm not going to rescue a lover of Poseidon's," Kevin denied resolutely. He stared into the challenging eyes of his half sister for a moment before glancing over toward Sam in askance. After a contemplative pause she nodded resignedly before he sighed and returned his attention to Eris as he added, "I'm going to pick up his son. The boy's mother was killed in a traffic accident earlier today, and Poseidon doesn't want to risk a six year old child of his at Chiron's camp with my father and Hades both potentially gunning for him. He knows neither of them will try anything if the boy is with me."

Eris looked on with wide eyes for a moment before sighing resignedly as she spat, "Aw hell. Like Pops isn't already flipping his wig over the prophecy. He doesn't want to trust any kid that isn't his to be loyal to Olympus. And he ain't convinced his own would side with him after you and Hera sided with Xena over the prophecy about her kid before you took out Roman aspects."

"Exactly. That's why this can't get spread around Olympus, Eris. I need to get the boy to safety and help him with adjusting to being a demigod. And until he's in my care I can't trust father not to try to interfere. That's why I have to get there as soon as possible. Can I count on you to stay quiet? At least until I'm back home and the boy has a chance to adjust to his new family?" Kevin asked earnestly.

Eris gave Hercules and long and soulful look, no doubt picturing how she would feel if it were one of her own demigod children, or even worse her darling little boy Strife, that was in this kind of trouble before she slumped down and nodded, "I'll keep it quiet. I can't have you messing up the last season of the show rushing off to Olympus to beat some sense into father's head if he sticks his nose and his Master Bolt where they aren't wanted. Besides you raising a potential child of prophecy has all kinds of possibilities to expand my domain. Just the arguments it will cause on Olympus alone will be worth it. And hey, I'll get a new little nephew for Strife and I to corrupt out of the deal. Sounds like a win-win for me."

Kevin knew this was as close to a heartfelt response as he could hope for from the goddess of discord as he nodded his thanks and Eris took down the barrier she had put up. "Well hopefully looking over that stuff will convince you to go a couple of more seasons instead of letting things end here. I think I might lose it if all I have to work on is Ares' little tribute to the Warrior Bimbo and her subtexty little Amazon sidekick. Think it over, little brother," Eris commented in case anyone was listening in before she flashed out with a wink.

"You know, if she's up for it, you could try to get her a part on Andromeda if it goes through. She could take another form or something and keep up her acting. I know she'll miss it when it stops and it's kind of dangerous to let her get bored," Sam 'suggested' with a worried look.

Kevin grunted in agreement as he put the papers away and closed the briefcase before he replied, "I'll think it over. At this point it would take a major manipulation of the Mist to even get us renewed now that the final season is in the can and I'm not sure we could pull it off even then. We might have to take our chances with her. At least she'll still have Lucy's show for now."

The rest of the trip was made with no more than idle small talk to throw any god or goddess that might take an interest off the proverbial scent until Percy was safely in his cousin/new stepfather's custody.

* * *

Five and a half hours later Kevin Sorbo was taking in a sight that was breaking his heart. He was getting his first good look at Percy, outside of the few snapshots Poseidon had included in the paperwork Kevin had looked over, as the boy wept inconsolably about the loss of his mother. The fearful question about whether "Smelly Gabe" was going to pick him up to see her didn't help much either. The mighty demigod could feel his heart breaking for his little cousin as he cleared his throat and attracted the attention of all assembled there.

"Um can I help you, sir," the Child Protective Services agent in charge of Percy asked as he she looked wide-eyed at the well know television star that had wandered into her office. She had been notified by a lawyer that there were strict instructions to keep young Percy from his stepfather should something ever happen to Sally Jackson and that a distant cousin of his biological father's was listed as his legal guardian, but surely this couldn't be him.

"Uh, hi. My name is Kevin Sorbo and this is my wife, Samantha. We were contacted about needing to pick up my cousin Percy because something happened to Sally," Kevin said with a note of uncertainty.

For his part, Percy looked on with wide eyes as he whispered, "You. You're… Hercules." Percy had watched the show with his mother since he had been all of three years old. There was something about the colorful adventures that just spoke to the young boy and seemed to help calm his ADHA. Even if Smelly Gabe did mock him for watching "that crap" whenever it was on.

Kevin smiled sadly at the boy as he knelt down to look the distraught boy in the eye as he nodded and replied, "That's who I play on TV, Percy. I also happen to be a relative of your dad's. He and your Mom made sure in their will that is something ever happened to both of them that I would take care of you. Would you like that?"

"You mean I don't have to go back to Smelly Gabe?" Percy asked shyly.

Kevin's face hardened at bit at the mention of the less than stellar mortal Sally had been forced to marry to hide her son's demigod scent as he replied, "No. You don't have to go back to Mr. Ugliano. Both your parents wills were very specific about that. In fact, I flew out the moment I got the news to make SURE that didn't happen by accident. And I have all the paperwork with me to prove that you will never have to see him again if you don't want to."

"You promise?" Percy asked uncertainly.

Kevin winked as he replied, "On my honor as Hercules, I promise." He then motioned over to Sam to join them as he said, "This is my wife Samantha. She played the last Golden Hind on my show. Did you ever see that episode?"

"Hi, Miss Samantha. You're very pretty," Percy noted shyly to the comely brunette woman as she knelt down next to her husband to greet him.

"Hi Percy. Thank you for the compliment. But you can just call me Sam if you like," Samantha replied in a soothing tone as she gave the sad little boy an encouraging smile.

"Okay," Percy responded with a small grin of his own. After a pause he turned back to Kevin and asked, "You said I was going to go live with you? That you're related to my real Dad?"

Kevin nodded as he replied, "Yes, Percy. We're cousins, so you will come to LA to live with me after we take care of the arrangements for your mother."

"Oh," the child noted hollowly as he tried to be brave in front of Hercules and hold back his tears.

Kevin noted the boy's struggles and put his hand gently on Percy's right shoulder. "It's okay to cry for your son. There's no shame in crying when you lose someone you love," he noted gently.

"But Gabe said…" Percy started to protest.

"Gabe was wrong if he told you never to cry, sweetie. We have to let ourselves feel. That's part of being a healthy person," Sam said as she moved into hug the distraught child. Percy sank into the embrace as he broke out into bitter tears at the loss of his mother as he clung to Samantha. "That's it, baby. Let it out. It's going to be okay," the wife of Hercules soothed as she comforted the boy.

Kevin stood with a sad look on his face as he turned his attention o the case worker and opened to briefcase to retrieve the documents he would need to claim Percy. They would have to get a hotel room or something for a few days as they put Sally's and Percy's affairs in order but the important thing at that moment was getting everything in order to claim the child legally. Once that was taken care of they could start the long process of helping him to heal from the death of his mother, and then, helping him to cope with the rather crazy life in store for him as a demigod child of one of the Big Three.

NOTE: As always, reviews and suggestions are welcome and encouraged. Flames without constructive criticism included will be used to increase Eris' seat of power before being tossed into Hestia's hearth.

There will be probably one more set-up chapter to get Percy settled in as a Sorbo ward and get him to LA proper. Then I have to decide if I want him to encounter Thalia or Piper in LA through their famous parents in a bridge chapter before things move forward to the point where Percy will start attending Camp Half Blood at twelve or thirteen.


	3. Chapter 3

NOTE: Okay, this chapter should take us through the prelims. Next will be Percy living in Hollywood and possibly meeting Thalia and/or Piper. And we'll see that beginning of how being raised by Hercules will impact Percy's personality and understanding of the world as whole when he finally gets to Camp Half Blood in a few years. As always reviews are the coin of the realm and I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

* * *

Even with proper documentation, and a liberal manipulation on the Mist arranged by Poseidon to make Gabe forget he even knew Percy existed, it still took a couple of hours to get things squared away enough that Kevin and Sam could take Percy back the hotel suite they had arranged. One that Kevin was certain to make sure was outside of mot only the island of Manhattan, but outside of New York City itself to stay just a bit more outside the notice of Olympus is that were possible. Not that he thought his adoption of Percy would remain secret for very long. He expected Zeus to show up within the next week or so demanding to know why Percy's biological father was, not that Hercules would feel all that inclined to reveal it. Besides, once the adoption was done formally and in the old way, in the eyes of Olympus Percy would be as much Hercules' son as if Sam had given birth to him herself. There would be nothing Zeus or Hades could say to contest it.

But that was an issue for another time, hopefully. For now Kevin was content to watch Sam bond with young Percy. The kid had about the sweetest disposition Hercules had ever seen on a demigod child (not counting the ribbing he once got from the likes of Iaolus, Jason, or Iphicles about his own disposition as a child), although it was already clear that Percy was demonstrating the ADHD common to all Greek and Roman demigods just as his school records provided by Poseidon showed he was cursed with the usual dyslexia common among Greek demigods whose minds were automatically hardwired to for ancient Greek.

About all Kevin could do for that would be to teach Percy Greek, both ancient and modern, in addition to Latin and English so his mind would be able to sort out the differences and cope with the languages while he was still young. The ADHD would be much easier to address with proper sparring and other chores and activities to keep Percy occupied. It was something most demigod children lacked in the ease of the modern era and it led to plenty of problems. Besides, even with his godly strength Hercules had not been exempt from an adequate amount of chores as a boy. Alcmene was not about to let him get spoiled growing up just because his father had been Zeus. Hercules saw all too well what such spoiling resulted in the few times he had met the minor god he had been named in honor of. Hercules had no intention of letting Percy ever grow up to be another Heracles, no matter how important a destiny he might be facing.

"Well, Mr. Sorbo, it looks like everything is taken care of. You said you arranged for a hotel in Yonkers while arrangements for Percy's mother are taken care of?" the social worker asked as she finished up the last bit of paperwork.

"That's right. We didn't want to end up calling any media attention to this and an unplanned trip to Manhattan with my wife might get the paparazzi sniffing around. We want to keep Percy's life as stress free as possible after all of this. Moving to California will be enough of a shock for him without some idiot sticking a camera in his face all the time," Kevin explained with a scowl.

"Of course. Thank you for taking the time to think ahead like that. It's not something we would have even considered," the social worker commented with a sympathetic look toward the black haired boy that was now trying to read a book to his new future stepmother. She noticed with a furrowed brow that the boy seemed to be struggling with it a bit.

"Dyslexia. It runs in my side of the family, I'm afraid. I was very lucky to avoid that particular issue growing up. But the fact it was diagnosed early will mean we can help him cope with it before it gets too frustrating for him. Sally had already been looking in to tutors or classes to help him with it in a couple of years," Kevin explained as he noted her expression.

"The poor kid. Thank goodness he has family like you and your wife to help him through this," the social worker replied.

"All we can do is be there for him. That's what family does," Hercules noted with a sorrowful look of his own.

* * *

It was three hours, a quick meal, and a drive to Yonkers later that found young Percy Jackson sitting on the couch in Mr Sorbo's hotel room. He had insisted that Percy at least call him Kevin, just as Sam had asked him to use her name, but Percy was still too in awe of the actor to do that even in his own head. I mean, he was _Hercules_ for heaven's sake. He was like the coolest superhero on TV. Xena was almost as cool, for a girl, but she was kind of mean and scary sometimes. Hercules was always a good person. Momma had said that he was setting an example of how to act that Percy should pay attention to and Percy always listened to his mother.

But thinking about Sally's words was something of a double-edged sword as the six-year old felt like he was going to start crying again. It wasn't fair! Why did some stupid-head have to hit his Mom with his car like that? Momma didn't even drive that morning because smelly Gabe needed the car for something. Why didn't that man watch where he was going? Why did he have to take Percy's mom from him?

"It's alright to be upset, Percy. I know this must hardly seem real for you," Kevin advised as he sat down next to the grieving child.

"What?" Percy asked with wide eyes.

"I know that look on your face. I had it when I lost my own mother a long time ago. It's okay to be sad, and angry, and everything else that you're feeling. But if you want to talk about it, Sam and I are here for you," Kevin advised.

Percy nodded at the sage advice before quieting as if in contemplation. After a time he asked, "Mr. Sorbo? Are we really family?"

"Yes, Percy. We are," Kevin replied as he wondered how far this conversation was about to go. He had no intention of lying to the boy about who and what they both were. Especially not of Percy asked. Not when he was about to adopt him as his own son.

"How come my Mom never told me we were related?" Percy asked.

Kevin paused as he thought over how to answer that before he replied, "Probably for a few reasons. One was probably to keep you stepfather from trying to beg me for money. Another was that there are members of your father's family, my side of the family, which would have been upset if they knew he had been seeing your mom. It's very complicated. Another was that I had never met your mom in person. I… didn't know about you at all until I was contacted earlier today."

"Oh. But my Dad, my real Dad I mean, wanted you to take care of me?" Percy asked.

"Yes he did Percy. And Sam and I were happy to do it. You're family," Kevin answered.

"Can you tell me about him sometime? My Dad, I mean. Momma didn't talk about him much except to say that he loved us," Percy replied.

"He did Percy. I know he did. That's why he wanted to make sure you were provided for if something happened to you mom," Kevin assured the child. If there was one thing today had proven, it was that Poseidon loved his youngest son.

Percy's next question was cut short by a large yawn as stress of the day began to catch up with him. Kevin smiled as he said, "How about you take a little nap? When you wake up we'll talk some more. And there are some things I need to ask you about before we can fly back to California. Is that alright?"

Percy wanted to ask what those things were now but he was weary and a nap sounded too good for him to pass up. "Okay. Can we have blue food when I get up?"

"Blue food?" Kevin asked in confusion.

"Momma would always make blue food for me with her special food coloring. Her blue pancakes were the best," Percy explained as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Well, I'd have to talk to the cooks here at the hotel about it, but if they can't do it I promise we can have as much blue food as you like when we get home," Kevin assured him.

"Really?" Percy asked with a grin.

"Really," Kevin assured him.

"Thanks," Percy said with a sleepy grin.

"No problem. Not off to bed, kiddo," Kevin instructed as he gave the child a gentle pat on the shoulder.

Once Percy was out of the room and well asleep Samantha asked her husband, "What do you need to speak to him about?"

"I need to tell him about us. Really tell him," Kevin replied with an almost guilty look on his face.

"So soon? I thought it could at least wait until we got home," Sam commented.

"Not with having to fly through my father's domain to get there. There's a chance, however slight, that he could discover who Percy's father is do something mid-flight to get at him for entering his domain without permission. If we adopt Percy using the old traditions before we leave it offers him my protection directly and Percy inherits my permission to always enter father's domain as his son.

Besides, with Hades having his recording studio as an entrance to his realm in LA I want Percy to have the full protection he can get before we get there. Hades has been gunning for any child of my father's or my Uncle's after they all made that stupid pact and father attacked Hades lover and two kids even though they were born before the pact was made. Father's paranoia and moodiness has only been getting worse over the years," Kevin explained.

"I have to say I was kind of surprised that he didn't even come to the wedding or the reception. I mean we got married in LA. It's not like it was New Zealand or Alaska where he would have been vulnerable," Sam noted.

"Well LA is more Hades' territory. And we hadn't spoken to each other much for centuries even before he threw a fit about how acting was somehow beneath me. Honestly, I was more surprised that Hera came to the reception and blessed the union. Twilight issues aside, we've never been each other's biggest fans," Kevin reminisced with a scowl. No matter how much he tried, he would never forgive his stepmother for smiting Deianira and his kids. Just because she wanted to save Eve and they learned to ignore each other for the most part did not mean that wound would ever heal between them.

"I know. Truthfully, I think she wanted to keep Ares and Eris from making a scene at the reception since they didn't attend the ceremony," Sam speculated.

"I doubt she would have expected Eris to keep Aphrodite from making a scene instead," Kevin noted with a chuckle.

"And people ask why we wanted such a small wedding?" Sam agreed with a laugh of her own. She sobered as she added, "Are you sure we have to tell him so soon? Can't we let him just be a kid for a little while longer? He's is such a sweet little guy."

"I wish we could, honey. But there are just too many dangers. And more than half of them are related to him," Hercules noted.

"Why can't most of your family ever get along?" Sam asked resignedly. "I mean, the living embodiment of Strife pops into our house to beg for cookies. His mother calls me to meet her for lunch and to gossip about the show. If I can have that good of a relationship with my nephew and sister-in-law when they used to be your mortal enemies why can't the rest of your family figure it out?"

"I've been asking myself that for two thousand years hon. If you ever figure out an answer, let me know," Kevin replied with a shake of his head.

* * *

To say Percy was curious when Sam and Kevin called him into the living room of the suite they had rented once he woke up would be an understatement. Mr. Sorbo had a very serious look on his face and for a moment, Percy wondered if he was in some kind of trouble? Had the social services people made some kind of mistake? Was he going to have to go back to smelly Gabe?

Kevin sighed and ran a hand through his hair in a sign of obvious frustrated tension as he said, "Percy, can you take a seat for me?"

"Is something wrong? Am I in trouble?" Percy whispered as he sat down in a chair and looked down at his feet in agitation.

"Oh sweetie. No. Nothing like that. Not at all," Sam assured him as she moved in to hug the clearly frightened little boy and reassure him a bit. "Kevin just has some things he has to let you know about your family, that's all. I promise,"

"My family? You mean, like my Dad. Mom told me he died when I was a baby," Percy earnestly confided.

"Ah. Well, that's one thing we need to talk about. One of a lot of different things," Kevin added with a wince.

"Like what?" Percy asked with childlike confusion.

"Well… have you ever seen the episodes of the show where they were set in modern times. The ones where I was playing myself, but I was really secretly really Hercules and I was using the name Kevin Sorbo while I worked on the show about myself?" Kevin asked seemingly out of the blue.

Percy's eyes lit up as he said, "Those are some of my favorites. It makes like all the gods an everything are real. They were so neat."

"Ah good," Hercules replied with a smile. "Because they're kind of more true than most people think."

"What?" Percy asked as he cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Well, Percy, the thing is, I am Hercules. The real one. In real life. I don't just play him on TV. Kevin Sorbo is the just the name I use now because most mortals don't think the gods are real anymore," Kevin explained.

"Really? But Momma always said what was on TV was just pretend. Is Xena real too?" Percy asked with the wide eyed trust and innocence only a child could achieve.

"Well most of the stuff on TV is fake, Percy. But Kevin a few others he knew wanted to tell his stories in a way people could accept and his show was a result. You see, nowadays people have forgotten a lot of the ancient history of that time or mixed it up because it was so long ago. For example, have you ever heard of the Twelve Labors?" Sam asked.

"No," Percy replied with a confused look on his face.

"Well the Twelve Labors are what most people in mythology know Hercules for. Stuff like wearing the pelt of the monster the Nemean Lion or facing Cerberus. The thing is, that wasn't Hercules, it was Heracles. He was another son of Zeus that lived many centuries before Hercules – Kevin here, did. In fact, Hercules was named in honor of Heracles," Sam went on to explain. "But it was so long ago people started mixing up the names and they just started assuming Heracles and Hercules were the same person and that it was just two ways of saying the same name. Like calling someone John or Jack but still meaning the same person. And, unfortunately, Heracles was sometimes a very selfish person that was not very nice. So Kevin started to tell his stories to separate things a bit. Or at least remind people that not all demigods are always so selfish as Heracles was," Sam explained.

"Oh," Percy noted as he tried to understand what he was told. "But if you're the real Hercules, then how are we related, Mr. Sorbo?"

"That's where things get kind of complicated, Percy. You see, the first thing I need to explain to you is that your father is still alive," Kevin began with a sad wince.

"But, my momma said. And… and if he was alive why wouldn't he be there? Why would Momma be with Gabe?" Percy asked in agitation.

"He was forbidden to be there, Percy. Remember earlier when I told you some of my family would be upset he was seeing your mom? Well part of that is because your dad already has a wife, although they don't always have the happiest marriage from what I understand. The other part is that your Mom was mortal and he wasn't supposed to be seeing a mortal woman like that. He had made a promise with his two brothers after some of their children got involved in things that were a little crazy. And there's also a law that forbids him from raising you. Believe me, if he could without it starting a war he would have been there himself instead of asking me to go in his place," Kevin explained.

"I don't understand. Who is my Dad?" Percy asked.

"It's my Uncle, Percy. Your birth father is Poseidon, God of the Seas, Father of Horses, Earthshaker, and Stormbringer. I think that's all of his official domain titles. I haven't had to remember them in a while," Kevin replied with a furrowed brow of his own as he tried to remember Poseidon's domains.

"Really?" Percy asked with wide eyes. "Is that why Momma always said if I was in trouble to run to the ocean because I would be safe?"

"Probably," Sam acknowledged with a nod.

"The sea will always be safe for you, Percy. You're a demigod and you will always be allowed in your father's domain. You could even breathe underwater if you wanted to," Kevin informed him.

"I knew that. I used to stay under water in the bath for as long as I want. But the soap would hurt my nose sometimes," Percy admitted.

That made both Hercules and Samantha share a chuckle before their expression grew serious again. "There's something else we need to talk about, Percy."

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Well, you see, your father Poseidon, my father Zeus, and their brother Hades have been fighting each other for a very long time. In fact, they won't let each others children even enter their various domains without asking first. For example, I can't go into the Underworld or onto the sea without asking my Uncles first. And you, you couldn't fly in a plane because the sky is Zeus' domain. It would be an insult that would make him very angry. Angry like Hera was when she killed my family," Hercules somberly informed the child.

Percy looked scared for a moment before he asked, "So I have to ask my Uncle for permission before we go to your house?"

Kevin shook his head sadly as he admitted, "No. He would never give permission because of the promise he and his brothers made. Because of that Poseidon isn't supposed to have any new kids to enter the skies in the first place." He paused for a moment before he added, "But there is a way around it."

"What?" the little boy asked.

"Well, you see, if Samantha and I adopted you, formally, in an Ancient Greek way with an old style oath to Olympus then in the eyes of the gods you would be my son officially. And since you were my son, you would inherit my permission to enter Zeus' domain as HIS son," Hercules explained.

"But if you don't feel comfortable with that, we understand, Percy. If you want, we could get train tickets and worry about adoption stuff later," Sam added seriously.

"But there is something else to consider. You see, if we adopt you that would put you under my protection. That means several gods and monsters that are angry at you father couldn't attack you without it being the same as attacking me. It would keep you safer. But the choice is yours, Percy," Hercules advised.

"So, you would be my Dad, then?" Percy asked.

"In the eyes of Olympus, yes. Sam and I would both become your parents. And hopefully, in time, you would come to see us as new parents, too. Not to replace your Mom and Poseidon, but to add to them as more family," Kevin said.

Percy sat there in deep though for a minute or two before he said, "I want to do the adoption."

"Are you sure sweetie? It's so soon," Sam asked with a concerned look.

"It… feels right," Percy replied. "Does that make sense?"

"Yes. You need to learn to trust your instincts, Percy. They will save your life someday," Kevin noted sagely.

"And Kevin here will help you to learn to use them," Sam added with a wry grin.

"Sam? Are you a demigod too?" Percy asked.

"No Percy. I'm what's called a clear-sighted mortal. That means I can see through what we call the Mist that hides things like centaurs, naiads, nymphs, and even gods from the eyes of most mortals. Your Mom was clear sighted too, from what your Dad told us. She knew he was a god from the moment she met him," Samantha explained. She turned her attention to her husband as she asked, "Speaking of the gods and all, what is involved in an ancient adoption? Somehow I don't think it involved calling Hermes to file paperwork."

"It might later, but I'll take care of that. Mostly we recite and oath in Greek, and make small cuts in our palms to mix all of our blood together in a bowl, then I say a few more words to seal the adoption pact. It's kind of like a blood brother oath taken to the next level," Kevin explained with a wince.

"You mean with real blood? And a real knife? Cool," Percy explained, intrigued by something somewhat gross as most young boys are.

* * *

The ceremony itself, if you could even really call it that, took less than half an hour to prepare and complete for the trio. And other than a flash of light when the pact was sealed it was rather anti-climatic. Just as Hercules promised it consisted of a lot of talking, most of which Percy was surprised he could make out even if some of the words were a little too big for him, cutting their hands, and saying more words. The way the cuts were healed immediately after was kind of neat, though.

Once it was over, the newly sealed family ordered room service, which Kevin paid handsomely to include as much "blue food" for Percy as possible, before Percy and Sam both settled in together for a good night's sleep with the boy clinging to the side of his new stepmother fitfully.

Hercules was about to turn in himself, knowing he would have to awaken early to handle the rest of the funeral arrangements for Sally, when his senses prickled and he saw a telltale flash of light in front of him. He was a bit surprised to see the back of Eris' head as she peeked in on the cracked doorway to the bedroom in the suite.

"He's cute," the Goddess of Discord noted without preamble.

"Hello again, Eris. Is this a social call or is father already throwing a fit?" Hercules asked as he folded his arms and waited for his elder half-sister to turn an face him.

"His black hair has a little bit of a curl like Strife's did at that size. Pity gods age so quickly. I never got to enjoy him being small all that long," Eris wistfully commented.

"That hasn't stopped you from babying him half the time over the years," Hercules noted with a smirk.

"True enough," Eris acknowledged as she turned to face her little brother.

"So, are you here for your own curiosity or for Olympus?" Hercules asked sternly.

"Both. Hera knew the moment you adopted the kid, of course. Not who he is, just that you sealed a formal adoption with your wife. It's stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest," she admitted with a pleased grin. The chaos on Olympus was like the sweetest nectar to her and her domain.

"And father's reaction?" Hercules asked.

"Do you really care beyond the fact he can't go after the kid now?" Eris challenged.

"No, but it's good to know where I stand," Hercules admitted.

"Confusion mostly. He's wondering why you would adopt an unclaimed demigod kid, and the adoption shows that he's a demigod even if it won't show who his parent is. Obviously nobody has come forward. And Athena has pointed out it's not unlike you to help someone in need. With Percy being so young this is weird, but it's hardly impossible," Eris reported with a shrug.

"How long do you figure it will be before Zeus swallows his pride enough to ask me himself?" Hercules asked.

"A few months at least. Any other god I'd give it days, but Daddy Dearest and our Uncles give new meaning to stubborn. You know that," Eris replied.

"All too well," Hercules agreed.

"Expect a few others to pop in to congratulate you and rubberneck if they think they can get away with it. Queen Bimbo was already squealing something about 'Aunty Dite' before I managed to flash out and try to save some of my hearing. But knowing her, she'll get distracted by Ares tongue in her ear, or someplace else, and forget about it," Eris commented.

"She hasn't been the same since Hephaestus had to reform after the mess with Xena," Hercules noted sadly.

"Says you. She's always been an air headed bimbo from where I stood," Eris huffed petulantly.

Hercules knew enough to let the conversation go at that point. Eris and Aphrodite had been at odds far longer than Hercules had been alive and nothing he could say would change their opinions of each other. "So what will you say about Percy?" he asked after a moment.

"The truth. Cute kid. Saw him sleeping next to your wife before you noticed me and called me out on popping in like this. Reminds me of how Strife looked at that age. Might be one of Strife's of Ares' judging by the black hair. I'll try to buy you some time and spread a few rumors. Will make the local turmoil more fun when the truth comes out," Eris noted impishly.

"Thank you Eris. I appreciate the help," Hercules sincerely responded.

"Stop it. You'll make me blush. And with as pale as I am that's not a good look on me," Eris huffed playfully. "Well I best report back to the Council. After all, you caught me out right away and even I can only risk pushing you so far with your wife and new son sleeping in front of you, right little brother? I might end up accidentally reminding you of Hera's less forgiving and rational days that she still feels guilty about. See ya later," Eris added with a wink before silently flashing out.

Hercules smiled at the mischief Eris had hinted she would sow on Olympus before heading to change for bed. There was still so much to get done before he and Sam could take Percy home. It was time to get some rest. Soon they would be starting off their new life together as a family. And if Hercules was being honest with himself, that was a scarier and more important consideration for him than any tantrum his father might throw when he discovered Percy's parentage.


	4. Chapter 4

The details to be handled for the return to Hollywood were surprisingly uneventful for Percy and his newfound family. Kevin and Sam made the arrangements to have Sally's remains cremated and buried at sea in honor of her love for the sea itself and the god who happened to rule over it. From there it was a simple matter to check Percy out of school, arrange for transport home, and collect Percy's things from his mother's apartment while Gabe Ugliano was at work (which in itself was a rare occurrence after Gabe had married Sally. It seemed Gabe somehow had enough clout as a manager at the local electronics superstore to still collect his pay without ever showing up. But with Sally gone, he felt motivated to actually put in an appearance, most likely to try to find a new "meal ticket/ live-in maid and cook" for him.) It was almost comical to Percy to watch Kevin hold in his desire to wretch at the stench Smelly Gabe left behind in the apartment.

And so it was that within two days Percy Jackson was officially and legally the adopted child of Kevin and Samantha Sorbo, and was flying in a plane for the first time ever on his way to the West Coast. Of course, that's not to say that the flight was not without its interesting moments…

Hercules did all he could to hold in his groan as the cabin of the private jet filled with flashes of white light that signaled the arrival of a god of some form or another. Some part of him hoped it was Poseidon popping in to check on Percy, but he knew his luck was not that good. Besides, Poseidon would never risk entering Zeus' domain by any means of than riding a Pegasus unless it was the direst of emergencies.

"Hey there, Herc. I hear congratulations are in order," the somewhat childish voice of Strife said as the god in question materialized in the plane. "Wow. He's a big one. I didn't think mortal kids grew as fast as godly children."

"Hello, Strife," Hercules replied with a roll of his eyes. He had almost forgotten that Strife, as a grandson of Zeus by way of Eris, was allowed in the skies just as Percy now was.

"Oh come on, Uncle. Don't be like that. You know you and Auntie Sammy love me," the deity needled. Much like the actor that portrayed him on television, Strife was lean with black hair and eyes. His skin was pale like his mother's and the physical form he chose to take gave the impression of someone somewhere between his teens and young adulthood. But, unlike the mortal actor who played him, Strife had a glint of madness in his eyes, along with a sense of power and danger to him that was tempered with his innocent smile. For clothing he wore a black t-shirt with a white anarchy symbol on it and dark blue jeans as opposed to the leather and metal outfit used by the actor in the show.

"Oh of course we do, Strife. We always appreciate your visits, don't we honey?" Samantha cut in before Hercules could say anything that might hurt the son of Eris' feelings.

"I never said we didn't Sam. Strife, let me introduce you to Percy, Sam's and my newly adopted son. That's why he's so big. He still ages like a mortal," Kevin explained as he put his shoulder on Percy's shoulder.

"Huh. That makes sense, I guess. I kind of wondered since you were a god for like an afternoon before giving it up to save Gramps and you still stayed immortal," Strife said before he turned his attention to Percy and added, "Nice to meet you, Cuz'. Name's Strife. You might have heard of me. Joel has helped to make me pretty famous."

"Wow, you're like one of my favorite characters on Mr Sorb- I mean Kevin's show," Percy said with wide-eyed wonder.

"Well we know you have taste. What do you like most about me? My cunning? My fearlessness? My impeccable good looks?" Strife prodded, forgetting that it was actually an actor that played him on the show, unlike Ares and Eris. In fact, Strife tended to fill in for his mother's duties in order to give her the time to act in the shows and take up her mortal guise in public.

"You're like the funniest god ever. You're not all serious and angry like Ares and Hera. And you don't ever do anything really mean. I really like the ones where you and Discord work together on Young Hercules, too," Percy explained with a smile.

Strife deflated a bit as he realized that even to the eyes of a six-year old demigod he was regulated to comic relief and sidekick to his mother and uncle, but he couldn't fault the kid. Strife has always made an effort to make his domain as fun as possible and not end up like the various sticks in the mud on Olympus. That grouch Dionysus was a perfect example with how he complained about being assigned to Camp Half Blood in punishment for chasing a wood nymph that Zeus had been eyeing behind Hera's back. After all, it was Uncle D's own fault. He had an awesome wife at home already in the form of Ariadne and had no reason to go courting trouble like that. Sometimes Strife thought it was a pretty good idea to let the god of wine dry out a bit and think about what he did.

"Well I do have a sense of fun that most of the Olympians lack. I mean Apollo and Hermes can be alright but they hang with each other more than anything. And I don't want to get all serious and boring like Athena. Or so wrapped up in my job I can hardly ever come home to say hi like Artemis. And don't even get me started on Hades and Poseidon and how busy they are all the time. I mean what good us ultimate cosmic power if you can't have a little fun with it?" Strife asked.

"Ultimate cosmic power? You're quoting Aladdin now?" Hercules asked with a raised brow.

"There's wisdom in Disney movies, Herc. After all, you ain't never had a friend like me," the god of strife replied with wide grin.

"And Kevin proved the hard way that he can go the distance against you, Ares, and your mother back in the day," Sam added with a repressed chuckle.

Strife's smile only widened as he asked, "Does that mean you won't say you're in love, Aunt Sammy?"

"Well I already married the big lug, so I guess it's a little too late for that one," Sam answered with a fond smile at her husband.

For his part, Percy watched the unfolding dynamic around him with a look of mild confusion as he tried not to get in the way of the conversation. Adults could be so weird sometimes.

"So, what brings one of my favorite nephews here?" Sam asked after a pause to reign in her mirth.

"Ah, I just had to see my new little cousin for myself. I mean Mom is spreading all kinds of rumors that he could be mine or Unc's, but that's just her stirring up trouble for her own fun. I mean, he's got our hair and all, but I'm not seeing it. I know I haven't been looking for a new girlfriend lately and all of Unc's kids get his red eyes no matter how much he tries for one with blue eyes like Xena's. I kept telling him he should look for a girl that doesn't look like the one that got away all the time, but I'd just get blasted for my trouble every time I mentioned it, so I gave up. He'll make time with 'Dite till he runs across another brunette with blue eyes breaking some shmoe's nose, and a year later you'll get another demigod runnin' around. Truth be told, I think he's waiting for the one that will tell him to take a hike like Xena did, but that's not my business," Strife explained with a shrug.

"We all know Ares has his… issues," Hercules noted with a shake of his head.

"Him and everyone else on Olympus. That's why I like visiting you and Aunt Sammy. You don't wear your crazy on the outside like they do. Makes for a nice change," Strife replied.

"And my homemade chocolate chip cookies have nothing to do with it," Sam added with a note of sarcasm.

"Hey, your cookies are right up there with nectar and ambrosia. If you ever decide to become a goddess, and if we can talk Gramps into allowing it, I'd make you the goddess of cookies. You could make a fortune selling them on Olympus. They'd put half the vendors there out of business," Strife defended.

"As sweet as the notion is, I'm not looking to become a goddess right now, Strife. I'm happy being the wife to a demigod, and now the adopted mom for another," Sam responded with a smile at Percy.

"More is the pity. I'll wear you down eventually, though. At the very least I need to make you immortal. I can't lose more fam- I mean my cookies. Anyway, I'll probably pop in when you're making some, because I know you won't deprive my new little Cuz'," Strife said with a wink at Percy. "See you soon kiddo," he added before flashing out.

"Well that was random," Hercules noted with a shake of his head. He knew that most of Strife's behavior was playing things for show. Eris' son and heir was not nearly as harmless and oblivious as he made himself out to be. Hercules didn't doubt for a moment that Strife has noted Percy's green eyes and at least suspected that he might be a son of either Poseidon or Triton. Still, as odd as it sounded, Strife was one of the few deities that Hercules trusted to keep his mouth shut. Strife looked at his family, Oympian and extended, as a family and nothing more. The chaotic nature of his domain meant he had no agenda to push behind the scenes, nor any reason to develop long standing rivalries like the one between Poseidon and Athena. Strife, by his very nature, was meant to go with the flow, so to speak. And he really did adore Sam and her cookies enough that he would never risk alienating her by spreading gossip that might hurt her or Percy.

Sam's eyes were sad as she said, "He's still hurting."

Kevin's mood dropped as he replied, "Yeah."

Percy looked confused as he asked, "What do you mean, Sam?"

"Oh Percy, your cousin Strife lost his youngest daughter and her mother to a monster attack three years ago. She… her mother was young, only 20 when they met and had Callie, and very much a rebel, kind of like Strife himself, and she didn't want her daughter to be trained to fight just because it was expected of her. Eventually… they paid the price for that," Sam explained sorrowfully.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked with a note of fear in his voice.

"Well, son," Kevin began to explain, "All demigods, including you and me, give off a scent because of our relation to the gods. The more powerful our parent and the stronger we become personally, the stronger the scent. Now, it usually doesn't become much of an issue until you are nearing your teens, but eventually monsters will pick up the scent and come after us. That's one of the reasons why it was so important that I come to get you. Your mother knew what she needed to do to protect you until you are old enough to go to Chiron's Academy to be trained. Your stepfather… well I don't think he would have been the best choice to protect you from monsters." He was very careful to NOT mention that Gabe did protect Percy through his stench alone. He didn't think the boy was really ready to understand just what Sally had been willing to sacrifice just to keep her child safe.

"Then monsters will be coming after me too?" Percy asked fearfully.

"Well, not so much. You see I have a bit of a reputation after the last two thousand years and most monsters have decided that it's better to leave me alone rather than get me interested in actively hunting them down again. That's one of the reasons your father thought I would be the best choice to help raise you," Kevin tried to explain.

"And Kevin will also help train you to protect yourself if you run into any monsters when he's not around. Not that there are that many running wild in our area. Between Kevin's demigod scent and the fact Hades keeps his portal to the underworld in LA, most wild monsters really don't want to take the chance of getting near the area," Sam added with an encouraging smile.

"Oh," Percy noted with a thoughtful look. "So does that mean I'll go to Kuh. Chi. Um…" Percy started to ask.

"Chiron's Academy?" Kevin finished for him with a smile that Percy returned gratefully. "Not for a while yet, at least. You have a unique situation in that I can train you directly as another demigod similar to what we do with legacies, which is what we call the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the gods. And except for those that don't have a safe home to go back to, most students at Chiron's only stay for the summer now. His Academy has become an exclusive summer camp for demigods called Camp Half Blood. Which I think is a blow to the world since it deprives mortal heroes of this day and age the chance to learn from him the way Iaolus and Jason did when we were kids. But the gods granted him immortality in exchange for training their children for all time and he accepted. So there's nothing to be done about that."

Percy's eyes lit up as he realized Chiron was the centaur that trained Hercules in the Young Hercules show and that meant he was real and he was still alive. It would be so cool to meet him someday. Then, his ADD mind made a leap as he asked, "Can I meet Iaolus and Jason too?"

Hercules looked sad for a moment before he replied, "No Percy. They passed away many many years ago. They were ordinary mortals and lived their lives. They are in Elysium now, or maybe even the Isles of the Blessed. I know Iaolus at least was stubborn enough to try to reach Elysium in three different reincarnations to get to the Isles."

"I'm sorry for asking," Percy replied, afraid he had offended his new adopted father.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Percy. Unlike the stuff on the last seasons of the show, both Jason and Iaolus lived good, full lives. Ialous lived to be in his nineties, and passed surrounded by four generations of his family, something unheard of in Ancient Greece. I'm sure they are happy where they are now," Hercules explained.

"Do you think Mommy is happy where she is?" Percy asked with a little hitch in his breath.

Kevin knelt down eye to eye with Percy as he resolutely responded, "I'm positive. Hades is many things but above all he is fair and honest in his duties to the dead. With what I know of your mother from what your father told me and from getting to know you over the last couple of days I know for a fact she will be in Elysium and she will be very happy there. She might even be spending time getting to know Deianeira and my sons there. I know she would want to know more about the man that will help to raise her son."

"Do you think I could visit her sometime? I mean you got to see Deianeira before right? It said so on the show. And Hades is your uncle right?" Percy asked hopefully.

It hurt Hercules immensely to dash the boy's hopes as he replied, "I don't think that will be possible, Percy. People aren't normally allowed into Elysium unless they have died. My first visit was a way for Hades to try to distract me from rescuing Persephone before I understood that she loved him and wanted to be married to him. And honestly, with the feud he's been having with my father over the last seventy years or so in particular, I don't think he would be likely to grant permission like that to us. It breaks too many of the Ancient Laws."

Percy began to tear up in sorrow as Kevin reached and to hug the boy. "I know, Percy. Believe me, I know. I felt the same way when my mother died. But even if we can't go to see them there is something we can do _for_ them," he soothed.

"What's that?" Percy asked brokenly.

"We can live the best lives we can. We can try to be happy because we know that is all they would ever want for us. And we can try to be good people that our mother would be proud of. That is the best way to honor them," Hercules said with a resolute expression.

"How do we do that?" Percy asked.

"We just do our best, Percy. The rest will fall naturally into place," Kevin informed him gently. "And you'll have Sam and I there to help you whenever you need it. I promise you that."

In the years to come, Hercules would always feel a burst of pride at the memory of the determined expression that come over Percy's features at that moment as the six year old child nodded solemnly to his new guardian. It was the first step for both toward becoming father and son in more than just name.

* * *

The rest of the ride back to Hollywood was fairly uneventful as time and jet lag made sure Percy was more than ready for bet by eight o'clock that evening (something Sam would wish for in later years as she raised a child with ADHD and a knack for finding trouble wherever he went). The couple watched as Percy snuggled into the bed in the guest room that would be converted into Percy's room in the coming days as they picked out furnishings and decorations that the young boy would like.

"He looks like an angel sleeping like that," Sam noted with a soppy grin.

"He's a great kid. I just hope I can do right in raising him. For all my years I don't really have much personal experience as a father. And… Hera took Klonus, Ilea, and Aeson when they weren't much older than Percy is now," Kevin fretted.

"Well that's not happening here and now. The fact Hera went to the trouble to bless our marriage tells you that much," Sam noted with a reassuring grin.

"Yeah. Doesn't mean I know all that much about being a father, though." Kevin countered.

"You'll figure it out. And who knows? Maybe we'll give Percy some brothers or sisters to play with in a few years?" Sam noted with an impish smile.

Hercules felt a whole in his heart that had been there since the death of his first wife and children begin to close up just a little more as he smiled and said, "I can't think of anything better."

* * *

**Author's Note:** And that's the last "set-up" chapter. Next will be a series of time-skips to cover highlights in Percy's upbringing and training to get him to at least the age he was in The Lightning Thief. And as I said, I would like some feedback about whether he should meet Thalia and/or Piper. It is only a year before Thalia, Luke, Annabeth, and Grover start to make their way to Camp Half Blood so Percy meeting her would be fairly quick (and probably stink of Zeus meddling somehow to try to make her life a little better.) Piper would be easier as he father is a famous actor and thus he and Kevin might be traveling in similar circles.

As for how this will impact things when we get to canon times, well needless to say, Percy's new upbringing will change his outlook on life and several canon happenings quite a bit. For example, Zeus is a lot less likely to think his grandson that was on the other side of the country stole the Master Bolt. Or that a child raised by Hercules would even be inclined to steal from him. But destiny has a funny way of making sure certain things still happen even if they happen in a different way.

Anyway, as always, feedback is deeply appreciated. It's not just the "coin of the realm" but also the inspiration to feed the plot bunnies and get more stories out sooner. So please let me know what you think in a review of a PM so I can keep the creative juices flowing.


	5. Chapter 5

The first two months for Percy in California were spent mostly getting acclimated to his new way of life. Besides getting enrolled in a very nice private school, Percy was also getting various lessons from his new adopted parents in things like mythology, including what was history and what wasn't, and the beginnings of his physical training as a demigod. The powers he had inherited from Poseidon, beyond breathing underwater and being a natural swimmer, had not yet manifested so most of his training revolved around various weapons and working his body to exhaustion.

And it was through that training that Percy met his second fellow demigod other than his new dad. (Heidi) Hudson Leick. Daughter of Deimos, God of Terror. Better known to most as the actress that portrayed Callisto on both Kevin's show and its spinoff about Xena.

Today she was putting him through his paces running through a small obstacle course in Kevin and Sam's back yard as she stood there watching intently the whole time. Honestly, Percy thought he was being punished for accidentally shooting her in her butt with an arrow when she tried to show him archery two weeks ago and she had declared that a trio of Orion, Artemis, and Apollo together could not help him understand how to handle a long bow.

Or it might have been when Percy complained about Hudson making him "waste time with weird stretches" as she tried to teach him Yoga. How was Percy supposed to know that in addition to acting that Hudson was a certified Yoga instructor with a passion for her work? He was only six, for Zeus' sake.

As usual when they trained, Hudson had her blond hair tied into a messy ponytail as she was dressed in a faded orange "Camp Half-Blood" t-shirt over her favorite black leotard. What would have been a sight of beauty and lust for most men past puberty was a picture of intimidation on par with a fully armored battalion of Roman infantry for Percy as Hudson barked out, "Four more laps before you can go through your cool down, Percy. Move it. You want action, I'll give you action."

"Yes Ms. Leick," Percy huffed as carefully made his way through a rope net set six inches off of the ground. For now, at least, the obstacle course was no worse than one you would see set up for mortals. Kevin and Hudson both wanted to get Percy used to training before adding more dangerous things for him to handle such a swinging logs, pit traps, and the like. And Kevin and Sam had both put their foot down against Hudson's suggestion to add a climbing wall like the one at Camp Half Blood, lava flow and all, to the set-up.

"I told you to just call me Hudson, Percy. Get in my good books and never insult how impressive yoga is again and I might let you call me Aunt Hudson again someday," the blond woman remarked with a somewhat frightening smile, although she did not intend for it to be so. You just tended to come off a little… scary when your father was the God of Terror no matter what you did. It was one of the reasons Kevin had suggested she audition for a part on Xena when the show first started, since he knew Hudson would make a terrific Callisto. In some ways she could be even more intimidating than Xena's worst enemy.

Percy just nodded in agreement and did not bother to mention that Hudson had only asked him to call her "aunt" once after they had first been introduced three weeks ago. After that, Percy's natural ability to court trouble seemed to rear its ugly head and it had been "Ms. Leick," just "Hudson," or when he really messed up "ma'am" ever since.

Hudson watched with satisfaction as Percy put his whole attention into the obstacle course with renewed vigor as Kevin came out to join them and watch his new son's progress. "How is he doing?" Hercules asked with a small wince as Percy scraped his knee pretty badly tripping over a tire.

"Not too bad for just getting started. I'm sure my mom wished I had something like this to tire me out when I was a growing little god-spawn with too much energy and not enough to fight on my hands," Hudson noted sardonically.

"There's an idea, you could market obstacle course sets to the parents of demigods to help with their ADHD. Goodness knows it does more for them than those pills the mortals have come up with," Kevin replied with a smile.

Hudson snorted as she retorted, "Yeah. Tell me about it. Still, it's like the dyslexia. You need someone there to work with them one-on-one to keep them focused to work through it. Not every kid is as naturally motivated to work hard like Percy seems to be. And I don't have the time to train more than one kid right now."

"How are things going on the show?" Kevin asked just to make conversation. As one of the major backers behind the scenes for both programs, he knew full well how disjointed things were getting with the "Twilight" story and the arc on Xena's show for next year. The writers had totally scrapped explaining how gods could not really die and exploring how they would take their Roman aspects as being "too confusing" and had started jumping into ideas that revolved around Xena travelling the world and getting into some pretty heavy Christian overtones. Granted, the "Twilight" Eve had heralded was the waning of the gods in the minds of mortals first with the forced adoption of their Roman aspects to push Xena to back off and then the start of Christianity as the dominant religion in the West, but the writers on the show were really pushing it. And the less said about the idea of Zeus killing Hera over the mess the better.

"They're a mess. They already have me playing a demon before I get "redeemed" and become an angel at the end of this season. Which is utter crap since the real Callisto was imprisoned in the volcano again by the gods directly after she killed Strife for a while, as far as I know. Everything is getting way too dark and disjointed. I mean, they're putting in a 25 year time skip the last four episodes this season. A time-skip. I know even most demigods don't know the history of the Twilight properly, you had to teach it to me when we started working together an all, but Xena and Gabrielle were not frozen in ice for 25 years. And they're not even using the Roman names for the gods while they're in Rome. I'm almost ashamed to be associated with the travesty this is becoming," Hudson griped.

"Well the writers and producers do take things in odd directions from time to time. Look at what they did with Iaolus' history," Kevin reminded her.

"Ugh. Tell me about it. And Joxer. The way they killed him off was so stupid. I mean, you told me yourself how he used to keep Xena and Gabrielle grounded and remind them that they were still just people. He was like the coolest surrogate brother in all of Greece even if he was a big dork and he was the closest thing Eve had to a father. Heck, he was the one that taught her right from wrong before she ever met Eli. Now, I wouldn't be shocked if they didn't have another episode next season just to insult him from beyond the grave. They are getting way too involved in their 'subtext' storylines. Sometime I think some of the writers might really be Amazons or Artemis' hunters," Hudson shot back.

"The Amazons still honor Joxer's memory for the way he stood up to Xena to protect Gabrielle after Solan's death at Hope's hands. They would never insult him if they could help it," Hercules countered.

"I guess. It's just been so messed up since all that Dahak crap. You said he was a tough opponent, but you, Xena, Ioalus, and Gabrielle managed to banish him for good before he ever possessed anybody or any of that. I don't know why the writers got so hot for that story line," Hudson complained.

"They love their drama. That's why they're writers," Kevin offered with a shrug. "At least you weren't part of that Kull mess that they made out of what was supposed to be a third Conan movie."

Hudson chuckled as she replied, "I still can't believe you agreed to be part of that."

"It looked good on paper. There's a big difference between how a script can look and how the final product can come out. You know that," Kevin countered with a chuckle. "Besides, it helps to keep me from getting too big as a star so I can fade into obscurity quietly in another decade or so. I just know that my Dad is going to force Ares to fake his mortal identity's death soon because he's starting to get big time Hollywood offers for once the season is complete," Kevin countered.

"Like Grandpa Leather Fetish needs a bigger ego," Hudson noted with a roll of her eyes. "Although it was fun seeing him turn green at the thought of hitting on his 'favorite granddaughter' when the writers suggested it before scrapping it because Callisto hated the very idea of romance even when she was still mortal," she added with a wicked giggle that could only have come from her grandmother via Deimos, Aphrodite.

The conversation was cut short as Percy came to a stop, panting, in front of them. "Hi Kevin. I'm done, Hudson. What's next?"

Hudson seemed to contemplate that for a moment before she smiled and said, "Go do 25 laps in the pool to cool down, the put on your stuff for yoga. I'll show you how great it is yet."

Percy valiantly held in his groan as it seemed all but impossible to hold those stretches without letting his mind wander after a while but still complied with the instructions and headed for the pool.

"You know that yoga would be hard for a regular six year old to focus on, much less a demigod," Kevin noted once Percy was safely out of earshot.

"And learning to force himself to focus now when he needs to will only sharpen his instincts in battle later. I know that from personal experience. There are reasons why I can hold my own so well despite being the daughter of a so-called minor god," Hudson countered.

That was something that Kevin could agree with whole heartedly as she nodded in acceptance and said his goodbyes. He had another meeting with the creative team for Andromeda that afternoon and he didn't want to be late.

* * *

It was another four months after he came to live with Sam and Kevin, who were fast becoming "mom and dad" in the boy's mind whether he knew it or not, when he met his first Olympian. Obviously it was not his first time meeting a god Strife still popped up frequently and Eris had come by on more than one occasion, even going so far as to ring the doorbell rather than flash in unannounced (not that she could with the wards placed on the house proper that would alert Hercules immediately if a god or monster came near the property).

Surprisingly enough the first to visit was not Poseidon, Percy's biological father. Nor was it Hades, whose portal to his realm was less than thirty miles from Kevin's front door. It wasn't Ares, who see no reason to visit his "little brother" unless it was related to the shows. It wasn't even Aphrodite despite her still cooing about getting to be "Auntie Dite" to whoever would listen to her on Olympus half the time. No it was a deity that Hercules had not spoken too directly in decades and had not see face-to-face in over a century. Namely, his father Zeus. King of the Gods, Wielder of the Master Bolt, Lord of the Skies, etc., etc.

The small family was having lunch when an unnaturally loud knock came to the door. Kevin looked up in alarm as he felt the immense presence of an Olympian and muttered to himself, "It can't be. I figured he'd come see me at work first."

"Who is it, Kevin?" Sam asked as she moved closer to Percy and hugged him to her side unconsciously.

"Judging by how strong it is, either it's one of my uncles or my father. And neither Hades nor Poseidon would be rude enough to just show up unannounced. I just can't believe he'd come here without at least calling ahead or sending Eris to let us know or something," Hercules noted with a shake of his head at the sheer audacity of the King of Olympus.

"Well you better go greet him then. You don't way him feeling like you're trying to ignore him," Same said with a note of concern as she looked back toward the front door from the dining room table.

Kevin gave a non-committal grunt before he rose and muttered, "Tried to ignore him? I've been successfully ignoring him for decades after the things he's been pulling."

The Son of Zeus made his way to the door and stood up straight, as if expecting a confrontation as he opened the good with a neutral expression and said, "Hello, Father."

"Hello, Hercules," Zeus returned in an equally even tone. As he often did Zeus took the form of an extremely well built man with show white hair. He, like Poseidon, wore a long beard although Zeus preferred the look of a three-piece pinstriped suit over the board shorts and Hawaiian shirts the Lord of the Seas favored when he visited Earth directly. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" Zeus prompted after an uncomfortable pause.

"If I say no, will you actually go away and leave my family alone?" Hercules asked, not showing the least bit of intimidation in the face of his father.

"Not until I get the chance to meet the child you adopted," Zeus returned coolly. Both of them knew perfectly well that Hercules could be just as stubborn as his father if pushed and that while the demigod was one of the rare few that had not inherited any of Zeus' powers over air and lightning he would still be formidable if Zeus seemed to pose a threat to his family. Of course, for whatever else you could say about Zeus, he did care about his children in his own way and he would prefer to avoid a conflict with his estranged son if he could avoid it.

"You are aware that Sam and I adopted him formally in the Old Way. He's a member of your house as much as I am," Hercules warned Zeus with a slight narrowing of the eyes.

"I'm aware. And Hera confirmed it herself in her role as the Goddess of Family," Zeus answered.

"And I can trust you to remain… civil toward my family?" Hercules prodded.

"You are not seriously implying that I would threaten my own grandchild are you?" Zeus asked with a genuine note of offense in his voice.

"Your recent track records have not been kind. People are still talking about how upset Hades is with you," Hercules noted.

Zeus looked upset for a moment, although Hercules could not say whether that was due to some kind of regret in killing Maria di Angelo and her children or repressed ire that Hercules was once again questioning him about that was good for Olympus and the rest of the world but it was gone almost before it could be noticed as the King of the Gods schooled his expression. "What goes on between my brother and I has nothing to do with seeing my grandson. Are you actually going to deny me the chance to see my first grandkids through you since Hera killed Deianeira and her children?" he asked, affronted at the very idea.

Kevin's eyes softened at that. Even with him, Zeus had been a sub-par and absentee father at best, but he had been a very good and loving grandfather. Part of Hercules suspected that the fact Zeus cared for Hercules' children so much was part of why Hera took her rage out on them. "And I won't have to worry about your wife being upset with you coming here?" he asked.

"Hera actually suggested it. And you know she could never strike at a union she blessed directly or the family raised in that household. Your wife and new son are as safe as they could ever be from her," Zeus answered.

Hercules sighed a bit in acceptance of that before he replied, "Fine. Come on in, then. It's not like I could make you get off the porch without upsetting the neighbors, anyway."

Zeus chose to take the high road and ignore his son's snarky comment as he made his way inside and looked idly around. The home was tasteful and well decorated but nothing one would call overly extravagant beyond the large plot of private land it encompassed. It was furnished with the feel of a modernized version of a rustic log cabin and it made Zeus smile at the thought that his boy still felt the call to be in nature rather than in the hustle and bustle of city life.

"We were just having lunch if you would care to join us, Father," Hercules invited as he led the King of the Gods the dining room where Sam and Percy were standing there waiting for him to return.

As they approached Zeus took note of the pair. He knew all about Samantha, of course. He had looked into her and her family extensively when Hercules has started showing interest in the mortal actress. He had even secretly had Hephaestus set up a television for him to watch the episodes where the young woman portrayed two different women in Hercules' past in various episodes. He would never admit it, but those episodes had been enough to prompt Zeus to watch the whole of the series from the beginning. And while he did not always like how some things were portrayed, Hercules managing to befriend that beast Typhon was an immediate example, he still fest a strange sense of nostalgic pride as Hercules did his best to subtly separate his own legend from that of his elder half-brother Heracles. His eyes widened a bit as he took note of young Perseus. The boy certainly had the dark shade of black hair shared by many of the family, although Zeus could not immediately place his parent just by looking at him.

As Zeus approached, Kevin, Sam, and even Percy were thankful they had though to order custom color contacts for Percy similar to the ones Kevin used to hide his own demigod eyes and that Kevin had called in a favor or two to get Hecate to part with a potion that dulled the scent of the sea that was distinct in Percy's demigod scent. In this instance, the sea green eyes that would have revealed Percy to be the son of either Poseidon or Triton were now a rich hazel that, while striking, would reveal nothing of his heritage.

Once they were close enough, Kevin cleared his throat a bit as he said, "Sam, Percy, I'd like you to meet Zeus, my father and Kin fog Olympus. Father, this is my wife Samantha, and my son Perseus."

Percy stood a little straighter as Kevin introduced him to Zeus as just his son. Smelly Gabe had never been willing to claim him like that. In six months Kevin had shown him more about what it was like to have a real father than Percy could have every dreamed of. And while he still missed his mother terribly, Percy hoped she would be happy that he was learning to be happy as part of the Sorbo home. He looked to his adoptive mother as she gave a deep bow and said, "Welcome to our home, Lord Zeus." Percy knew he should address the deity before him as well and so gave a hesitant bow before stuttering out, "H..hello, L-lord Zeus."

Zeus nodded once to Sam in acknowledgement before turning his attention directly to the child before him. He could practically feel his heart melting at the sight of the innocent young demigod doing his best to not offend him despite his obvious intrusion on their home. It was clear to Zeus that Percy was a very pure soul, something that came from his domain as the God of Justice, as he looked upon the young boy. Zeus was smiling as he knelt down to face Perseus as he said, "No need for that Perseus. Not in your own home. Olympus knows your father never got into the habit of bowing to me even when he should. And you can call me grandfather if you like. We are family, after all."

Percy's eyes darted in wonder to Kevin's before returning to Zeus as he said, "Yes sir. I mean, Grandfather."

Zeus' smile widened as he noted, "That's more like it. So your name is Perseus is it? I had a son with that name once a very long time ago. He was a great hero."

Percy's expression brightened as he replied, "I know. Mom-I mean Sam, told me all about him and how to fought Medusa. And Dad told me about how he would use his wits to win his fights."

Zeus actually chuckled a bit as he replied, "He did at that. Perseus was always a quick thinker. Took after me in that." Zeus gave Percy a conspiratorial wink before standing up to lock eyes with his son. "You have a fine family here, my son," he complimented.

For his part Hercules was somewhere between relieved at how his father was acting and angry that he could act like that the turmoil between them over the last two thousand years since the rise of Rome never happened but swallowed down his anger for the sake of the family as she responded, "Thank you father."

What took place from then on was almost surreal as Zeus share a family meal with the Sorbos, taking time to talk with Percy and Sam as much as he could for well over two hours before Kevin's wife and son excused themselves so that Sam could help Percy with his homework. Hercules and his father watched from the dining room in a kind of companionable silence for a time as Sam and Percy worked at the coffee table in the living room.

It was finally Kevin that chose to break the silence between them and discuss the proverbial elephant in the room as he asked, "Well."

"Well what?" Zeus asked in false innocence, only to look away and the unforgiving look in his son's eyes and return his attention to his daughter-in-law and grandchild. "Alright, I was curious. All of Olympus was curious when you've avoided anything to do with any of us beyond those helping with you show. I wanted to see for myself what would make you adopt an unclaimed demigod as your own."

"And what have you decided?" Hercules asked neutrally.

"Well I can certainly see the family resemblance. That black hair looks so much like Strife's when he was just a godling. And that face, I'd almost swear he was one of Demeter's sons except I know that she always claims her children," Zeus noted.

Hercules grunted in acceptance of the fact Demeter did not ignore her own as some gods and goddesses did as he drily mentioned, "Percy's birth mother was mortal. She was killed in a car accident. He was getting a text message and looked away from the road. So unless Demeter was getting creative I don't think Percy is hers."

"With the unique ways some of the family have children I wouldn't rule it out," Zeus said with a shake of his head as he recalled how Athena has learned to make "mind children" with mortals to allow her the joy of parenthood without breaking her maiden vows. "Still I can't say I can immediately pick out who his birth father was. Can you?"

"I haven't given it much thought. Over the last six months Percy has become our son in every way that matters. You should have seen the look on Sam's face the first time he called her 'Mom' without thinking about it. Or when he asked if he could call me 'Dad.' No, he's my son. That's what matters," Hercules answered with a look of pride toward his family.

"He's a good lad. Has a good heart. I can see that in him. He'll be a great man someday. A great hero," Zeus noted.

Hercules' look darkened as he replied, "I wish I could save him from the last part."

Zeus sighed a bit as he said, "I know. It's never easy what our children face because of their blood."

Hercules gave Zeus a sideways glance before returning his attention to his family as he commented, "Somehow I don't get the feeling this will be a common thing, you stopping by to visit."

"Not as often as I would like. You know how it is. Ruling Olympus is not easy. Especially not with our family," Zeus snorted back.

"You do know that many of those issues stem from your own stubbornness," Hercules replied with a snort of his own.

"It seems to run in the family," Zeus agreed in a rare moment of humility. After a pause he asked, "How is Percy doing in terms of friends? Does he get on well with other children?"

Hercules felt a twinge of suspicion deep within him as he asked, "He's a friendly kid. He's had some problems confronting a few bullies in his class but it was all settled after a while. What makes you ask?"

"Just curious. Your friendships with Ialous and Jason were so important to you. I just want to know Percy will have the chance for the same. Demigods sometimes have trouble connecting with other people in this day and age," Zeus replied smoothly.

"Well there's no issue with that. He's a little shy at first but you can't help but like Percy within a few minutes after talking to him. He makes friends fairly easily," Hercules responded.

"Good. And he's getting enough exercise? That's very important for demigods, you know. All that pent up energy and having to deal with ingrained battle instincts," Zeus added.

"I know plenty about how much energy a young demigod has. I've been training him personally and Deimos' daughter, Hudson, has been coming twice a week to work with him too. He's been getting plenty of exercise," Hercules assured his father.

"Excellent. But he can't spend all his time training. He needs to have time to have fun and just be a child, too. You should take him to the park or something. Isn't there a nice one not too far from here?" Zeus asked.

"Yes," Hercules replied suspiciously. "But why would you know anything about the local parks?"

"Oh I spent some time here in the past a few years ago. Long before you and Samantha moved here, in fact. It was a nice place for a stroll to get away from the stresses of Olympus," Zeus airily replied.

Hercules knew full well that "Stresses of Olympus" was code for "Hera's nagging." But there was something about Zeus' wording and behavior that set Hercules' teeth on edge as he asked, "Really?"

"What, can't I take a walk every now and again? But you should think about what I said. Percy could use some time out in the world exploring. And there are always other children there. He might make another friend if he's lucky," Zeus commented before looking up as if listening to a sound only he could hear. "And now it seems I need to go. Ares and Athena are arguing again and I can't let it spill over into Manhattan proper."

Hercules rose to shake his father's hand as he said, "Thank you for your visit, father. It was… pleasant."

Zeus smiled sadly at his child as he replied, "Thank you for letting me into your home. Now I better say good-bye to Percy before popping out."

Hercules watched as his father made his way over to Percy and Sam and said his goodbyes, going so far as to ruffle Percy's hair playfully before flashing out of the house. Part of him was relieved the visit was over as another part of his thought over Zeus' strange words. All through lunch the King of the Gods had been very attentive toward Percy, as if he was evaluating him. Hercules has assumed he just wanted to know what kind of demigod had been added to his house, but now he wasn't so certain. Was Zeus trying to set Percy up for something? And what did going to the park have to do with it? Not that Percy didn't go there already to spend time with some of his friends form school, but the way Zeus has emphasized it was very odd to the actor/demigod. Well, whatever it was if it put Percy at any kid of risk Hercules and his father would have… words. That was for certain.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Well that's another one put away. I think some of you will be able to tell what I'm setting up in the next chapter fairly easily. And yes, Zeus is channeling much more of his early Legendary Journey personality here than his PJO/HOO personality. Part of that is not wanting to alienate Hercules any more than he already has. Another is that he wants something from Percy and making Hercules more upset with him would work at cross purposes. Take that for what you will.

And, as always, feedback is not only appreciated by needed to keep the rabid plot-bunnies satisfied so I can keep things moving.


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